I was transacting some matters at a commercial shop in a Mediterranean city when an OFW lady came in. Her mobile phone was on loud mode – she was listening to the first day of the Sara Duterte impeachment trial. And yet it was only the first day and the listener was somewhere in Europe.
The sign was more than eloquent – there will be a massive following of the trial by Filipinos from any side of the political divide, and from all walks of Pinoy life worldwide because of social media.
On the second day of the trial, followers progressed by leaps and bounds – they already had a star lawyer and his name was being repeated and praised in the cyber world. Some had already researched his roots.
He was born in Carigara, Leyte, one of the oldest historical towns in all of the Visayas. He studied for the Philosophy in Cebu City to graduate summa cum laude at the University of San Carlos. And then he went to the UP College of Law for his Juris Doctor.
His name from hereon will be nationally famous. It goes without saying, it already is – Amando Virgil Ligutan.
He will be contending with fame. Some of the few of what many say of him:
Mikhel: Kung sino man ang pumili kay Atty. Ligutan as one of the prosecutors, HINDI KAYO NAGKAMALI!!
Jayson: Napa research tuloy ako sa HOLD YOUR HORSES, dagdag kaalaman din, more idioms pa Atty Ligutan
Cheche: Kinain ng BUHAY ni ATTY Ligutan ang Defense LAWYER. Super galing ng lawyer na to from Cebu
Amor: No question about his intelligence and his CV. A Summa Cum Laude graduate from a prestigious School, presenting Atty. AMANDO LIGUTAN. Magaling na abugado ng prosecution sa Impeachment Trial ni Inday Sayad.
Imagine this: Ligutan conducted a comprehensive direct examination of an expert witness for almost five hours. In the process, it presented for identification dozens of admissible documentary exhibits that were chronologically arranged. Then he had to rebut objections from the opposing counsel.
That a star lawyer is born means many: the Filipino people are watching; the Filipino people are learning law and jurisprudence,not to mention accountability. The Filipino people are forming informed opinions.
The search for wisdom by ordinary Filipinos is amazing. They have unearthed a previous interview of Ligutan who revealed why he volunteered – yes he did – as prosecution lawyer. Take note: his work in the prosecution panel is pro bono.
He saw the irony of the law when it jails the poor. This was the story about the school principal in Virac, Catanduanes who was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment for pocketing P5,000.
“If we can send to jail somebody for pocketing P5,000, why can’t we remove from office the sitting vice president for misusing millions of pesos of public funds?”
He is also made of sterner stuff. He was against the Duterte EJKs. He has rebutted the DDS fake news on sovereignty with the International Criminal Court. He is openly for Duterte’s prosecution in the ICC.
Ligutan is senior lecturer at UP Law. Among Cebu City’s big universities, he lectures at the University of San Jose Recoletos and at the University of Cebu. Expect these schools to have more students enrolling, but only after this semester. He has announced that “for the first time since 2011, I won’t be teaching any law subject this coming semester. See you next semester.”
He will go back to teaching only after the impeachment trial.
The views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of VERA Files
